Battle for Aragon

At the start of the rising, the Nationalists had 2-300 regular troops and approximately 150 Civil Guards and Carabineers in Huesca. The republicans who managed to escape from Huesca had taken refuge in the outlying suburbs of the city, and from here they were launching guerrilla attacks on the Nationalists, especially at night. There was a large battle in the Hermit of Santa Lucia in the suburbs, and the Republicans were repulsed. The survivors established themselves in Angues and Ponzano, from where they hoped for aid from the forces in Barbastro. On the 21st July, Republican aircraft flew over Huesca and dropped a mixture of leaflets and bombs. This was the first of what were to become almost daily air raids on Huesca, which the Nationalists were powerless to prevent as the Republicans had air superiority.

On the same day, three sections of the Nationalist Jaca regiment arrived as reinforcements. Two companies of Falangists had also been raised, and these were called the "Voluntarios de Santiago" and the "Campana de Huesca." On the 26th, 275 Carlists arrived, and in the first days of August a further 200 turned up.

In Barbastro, The Republican Colonel Villalba had half a mountain brigade, consisting of the Ciudad Rodrigo and Madrid battalions. His forces were strengthened on the 25th by the arrival of the Asia battalion, part of the Lerida battalion, and a force of militia. On the same day, there was a serious engagement at Tardienta when the Ciudad Rodrigo battalion surrounded and subdued the Civil Guard barracks there. The capture of Tardienta threatened Almudebar, which was on the Saragossa-Huesca road. In the next few days, Villalba's force, which now numbered 3,000 men and four artillery batteries, swept aside all Nationalist resistance between Barbastro and Huesca.

Exploitation

To exploit this, Villalba then sent a force from the Asia battalion towards Almudebar. Almudebar was held by a garrison of 20 Falangists and Civil Guards, and they had successfully beaten off attacks by large numbers of Republicans on the 21st. On the 22nd, a force under Commandant Solas had arrived from Saragossa to aid them, but they were still not out of danger. There was much fighting in Almudebar until the 29th when Nationalist reinforcements arrived from both Huesca and Saragossa, and forced the Republicans to retire.

The Republicans began their campaign to liberate Saragossa on the 21st with a bombing raid by four aircraft on the city. They dropped a total of 60 bombs and caused some casualties. On the 23rd, Juan Garcia Oliver, who was in charge of organising objectives and timetables for all the columns, broadcast an appeal to the people of Aragon, calling on them to rise up against the Nationalists.

The Durruti Column was given a rousing send off on the 24th as it left Barcelona in a mixture of cars, taxis, buses and lorries. It was at this time nearly 3,000 strong, with the support of three batteries of artillery under the command of don Fernando Claudin. Some sources claim that their supplies were left behind, and that the column had to halt while these were brought up. All the same, it made good progress as lead elements were at Lerida and the outskirts of Caspe in the afternoon. The main column arrived at Lerida on the 25th, from where it advanced to Fraga.

In Fraga, a number of Nuionalists were executed, including a priest, the main landowner, a lawyer and his son. After Fraga the column split in two, some of it headed for Caspe, while the other half carried along directly en route for Saragossa. Although the original plan had called for a concentrated assault on Saragossa, the Republicans were worried that Caspe could become a thorn in their side as it was in an ideal position to launch attacks on the left flank of the Durruti Column's advance down the Lerida-Saragossa road.

On the 25th, all the other columns left Barcelona. The PSUC/UGT forces, led by Jose del Barrio, included about 50 foreign volunteers. In Tarragona the Penalver Column was formed, mainly of regular troops, and it marched to Gandesa and Alcaniz. In the province of Tarragona, the Bishop and hundreds of clergy were killed, though President Companys intervened personally to save the Archbishop-Cardinal. In Lerida, the Hilario-Zamora Column was formed from local soldiers and civilians, and it set off towards Caspe where some of its members took part in the fighting for the town.

Bogged Down

The PSUC/UGT del Barrio Column arrived at Sarinena on the 25th, but it then became bogged down in the Sierra de Alcubierre, and it was bombed by Nationalist aircraft at Granen. On their right was the POUM Column, which reached Ballester via Monzon, though it was held there temporarily. In Lerida itself, the POUM persecuted the Catholic church, executing the Bishop and a large number of clergy. The cathedral and churches were burned, the libraries destroyed, and all religious property was confiscated. From Valencia, a column had set out northwards for Teruel, made up of militias and 400 Civil Guards.

Caspe was a small town of 7,700 inhabitants, the majority of whom supported the Nationalists (many of the population were members of the Catholic Union of Workers and Peasants), and it was protected by a river and the ruins of a castle. Captain don Jose Negrete had risen for the Nationalists there on the 19th July, and he had ordered the garrisons of Bujaraloz, Escatron, Fabara, Maella and Sastago to concentrate in Caspe by the 21st. When they arrived, he had a total of 40 Civil Guards and 200 civilian volunteers. Some armaments arrived from Saragossa on the 23rd. Captain Negrete was soon inundated with requests for help from Mequinenza, Fabara and Maella, and news arrived that militias were gathering in Calaceite to the south and Fraga and Candasnos to the north, where they were poised to cross the Ebro. Negrete ordered a guard to be placed on the Ebro crossings in the vicinity, so as to keep watch on Republican movements.

The Civil Guards protecting one of the crossings ambushed the leading units of the Durruti Column, forcing them to withdraw and regroup. However, the Anarchists swiftly carried on with their attack and managed to cross the bridge and penetrate into the town. All of the Civil Guards on the bridge were killed in the process. Three lorries carrying Nationalist reinforcements from Maella and Fabara were bombed and strafed by Republican aircraft, and one lorry was destroyed. In the town, the Nationalists had barricaded all the streets, many of them with mattresses, and the Anarchists were forced to climb onto the rooftops in order to dominate the Nationalist positions. Captain Negrete held the widow of the Republican Mayor hostage on the balcony of her hotel, but fortuitously the Anarchists managed to shoot him and his companions without hitting her. Negrete's second in command, Lieutenant don Francisco Castro, of the Civil Guard, was also killed.

House-to-House Fighting

During the house to house fighting which followed, the Anarchists set light to some buildings, including the flour factory. After they had captured the hospital, they were helped by a local resident who gave them some guidance. Some other residents also joined in the fighting, firing at Nationalist positions from behind. The Republicans tried using a lorry to help them approach the Nationalist barricades, but after three drivers had been killed the lorry was abandoned in the middle of the street. The Anarchists were reinforced by the arrival of some armoured lorries, and received some support from the air, but luck was on the Nationalist side. The superior accuracy of the fire of the Civil Guards began to tell and the Anarchists were forced to withdraw. The Anarchists are believed to have suffered 92 casualties, though some sources claim that these merely represented their dead.

The next day, the attack was renewed by the Rojo y Negro Column, supported by four 75mm artillery pieces commanded by Lieutenant Garrido, and 200 regulars from Lerida led by Captain Zamora. Advancing in a skirmish line they approached the town, and by mid-morning the Nationalist resistance had collapsed. White flags started appearing here and there. Two Civil Guards who surrendered, claiming to be Republican sympathisers, were shot dead on the spot. The dead were buried the next day in Caspe churchyard. A small Nationalist column had advanced from Saragossa via Escatron to relieve Caspe, but it arrived too late to help and was itself bombarded by both artillery and air units. The column retired to Escatron where it took up a defensive position.

The battle of Caspe led to some changes in the militias, and prompted both the organisation of a first aid system, and to increased support for the idea of forming the militias into properly organised centuries. The fall of Caspe also led to the fall of Hijar, and Puebla de Hijar to the Rojo y Negro Column, which had been reinforced by the Penalver and Hilario-Zamora Columns.

The Durruti Column then made Bujaraloz its base for the assault on Saragossa, and it was here that some reorganisation took place. What organisation the centuries had had beforehand, had been to subdivide them into groups of 10. They now reorganised into four groups of 25 per century, each with its own elected delegate. Five centuries formed a battalion, with the support of a surgical team and a machine gun team. Supply, health and transport services were also organised for the whole column. Durruti turned away Aragonese villagers from joining the column, telling them that they were needed to work the land, for the land was now theirs. This suggests that desertion and losses must have been low, and confidence high at the time, unless of course they were turned away simply because there weren't enough arms to equip them with. Bujaraloz itself was decked out with red and black flags, and the main square was renamed the Plaza de Durruti.

On the 27th the column left Bujaraloz, but just after learning it was bombed by three Nationalist tri-motors, 20 militiamen were killed, and others ran away, though they were prevented from going far by other militiamen. The column was upset by this bombardment and it returned to Bujaraloz, from where it sent out patrols to scout out the Nationalist positions. Durruti made a speech to the column in Bujaraloz, where he humbled those who had run away, and apparently some of them wept in shame and anger at their earlier conduct.

Battle of Sietamo

Sietamo, a small, indefensible village with a population of only 800, and situated 10 kilometres east of Huesca, was reached by Colonel Villalba's forces on the 29th. In the first few days of the war Republicans had fled there from Huesca, though the Civil Guard post there had easily dispersed the refugees. Under the command of don Manuel Lahoz of the Civil Guard, they managed to form a small garrison of nearly 100 men. They included the Civil Guards from Angues, some Assault Guards, and a number of volunteers from Huesca.

On the 30th the small garrison was bombarded by Republican planes and artillery, and this was soon followed by an assault by Republican infantry and armoured lorries. The Nationalists were hard pushed to hold their ground, but they were saved by the arrival of a small column from Saragossa. Villalba renewed the attack the next day, this time in greater strength, and he was aided by the fact that the Nationalist reinforcements had returned to Huesca. The defenders were forced to retire from their forward positions into the village itself.

That night the civilian population were evacuated and Lahoz and his men took up position in the parish church. They maintained a strong resistance for three days, until they were forced to give up the fight as they were running out of supplies and there were too few of them left to maintain a strong defense. A small relief column from Saragossa had been unable to break through to them. However, Lahoz's force did not surrender, for they managed to escape through a window in the church, and from there they made their way through the Republican lines.

On the 2nd August the Nationalist General de Benito launched an operation to retake Sietamo. A column was organised for this task in Huesca, comprising a battalion of the Valladolid regimont (led by Jose Aranaz), and a force of Falangists, and Requetes. On the 3rd, de Benito's forces retook Sietamo.

The Nationalists only had 1,500 troops in the field in Aragon at this time (excluding the garrison of Saragossa), and the call up of the reserves from 1933, 1934 and 1935 did not take place until August. General Gil Yuste replaced General Cabanellas on the 28th July, at a time when Nationalist fortunes were at an all time low in the region. On the 29th, General Mola at Pamplona only had 26,000 rounds of ammunition left for the entire Nationalist army in northern Spain. He was frantic, and was considering some very desperate measures, including giving up the struggle and killing himself. However, the Nationalist Army of Africa managed to link up with some of his forces and they resupplied him with 600,000 rounds of ammunition. Given the tough situation, General Gil Yuste decided that the best his forces could do would be to fight a series of rearguard actions to slow down the Republican advance.

With this in mind, the Sueiro Column left Saragossa on the 29th July, to try to hold up the Rojo y Negro Column along the line Azaila-Hijar-Albalate. Nationalist cavalry under the command of Colonel Monasterio arrived at Gelsa, from where they watched the Ebro crossing points. On the 31 st, Sueiro clashed with the Rojo y Negro Column at Azaila, and Monasterio's cavalry clashed with them en route to Sastago. The cavalry were forced to withdraw to Quinto and Gelsa. On the 1st August, both Nationalist columns advanced on La Zaida, which they occupied on the 3rd. They then formed a defensive line between Azaila and La Zaida. On the 5th, their right flank was turned and they were forced to retire. This left the Nationalist forces south of the Ebro holding only Quinto and Belchite.

The Rojo y Negro Column had been helped in this combat by the arrival of the Carod Column. This column had been formed in the Tortosa region by the CNT with Lieutenant Jose Ferrer Bonet as its military advisor, and numbered between 3-4,000 volunteers. The column included a group of 80 Civil Guards, who gave some training, though many Cenetistas refused to be taught by the Civil Guards. It had been involved in some heavy fighting for Muniesa, and the reorganisation after the fighting had led to some desertions.

A Republican force led by Mariano Bueno was formed from volunteers from Jaca and Boltana, and bolstered up with some regular units from Barbastro. This force, the Bueno Column, threatened Nationalist positions in Alto Gallego, and tried to break communications between Jaca and Huesca. It was 2,000 strong and had the support of two batteries of mountain artillery. On the 7th August, troops of the Nationalist 5th division occupied Lecinena, but the next day they were expelled by a strong counter-attack from the del Barrio Column. The Nationalists withdrew to Perdiguera, where they took up defensive positions.

Offensive Resumed

However, Gil Yuste's strategy had paid off and the main Republican attacks had been held. Durruti's forces in front of Saragossa had resumed their offensive on the 4th August and had reached Osera de Ebro on the 8th. From there they could see the lights of Saragossa, but they were unable to proceed any further. Colonel Villalba and Major Perez-Farras had persuaded Durruti that the column's flanks would be under threat if they continued to advance, and they thought it best to wait for their flanks to be secured before continuing the attack on Saragossa. What munitions could be spared were sent back to Barcelona for use in the invasion of the Balearics which was being prepared. Durruti himself decided to return to Barcelona and the Republican offensive was called off

Many in the militias felt frustrated at the enforced halt to their offensive, and some of them organised their own, small scale attacks on Nalionalist positions. In the Durruti Column, two groups were formed of volunteers who were keen to launch night attacks and more guerrilla style operations against the enemy. These units were called the "Hijos de la Noche" (Sons of the Night), and "La Banda Negra"(The Black Band). The latter were joined by Joaquin Morlanes, a regular infantry captain, and they took part in attacks on the Nationalist rearguard.

While the large scale offensive on Saragossa had been put on hold, local offensives did continue. In mid-August another attack was made on Sietamo, aided by reinforcements from the Durruti Column and POUM Column. The advancing troops were bombed and strafed by Nationalist aircraft, but they managed to reach the village. After three days of fierce house to house fighting, the Republicans finally succeeded in driving out the Nationalist forces. This success was followed by the taking of Loporzano, Estrecho Quinto, Monte Aragon, and Fuentes de Ebro. However, the Nationalists launched a counter offensive in September between Farlete and Suelta Alta, which succeeded in pushing back the Republican forces.

To their credit, the Republican forces had captured 55% of Aragon in just over a week, even though they did fail in their principal object of taking Saragossa. The land which was taken was of much importance to the later feeding of the Republic, as it was a major wheat and fruit growing area. Nevertheless, their failure left the Nationalists free to send troops to the Madrid and northern fronts, and to build up a stronger defence line in Aragon itself, which successfully withstood later Republican attacks.

In the first weeks of war, the Republicans had a vast superiority in numbers and a combative spirit. Unfortunately for them, the regular officers accompanying them worried too much about the drawbacks and weaknesses of the militia system. Some of them had even opposed the Republican advance into Aragon, and had recommended that a defence line be formed just outside Barcelona. In the few large scale actions fought by the militias on their way to Saragossa they had suffered high casualties, even though they were fighting against forces which they considerably outnumbered. Their ammunition expenditure had also been considerable, and the Rojo y Negro Column's stock was running dangerously low.

If the Durruti Column had continued with its assault on Saragossa in the last week of July, rather than waiting until the 4th August, they may well have taken the city, but their casualties would have been high. However, a Republican success in Saragossa would have considerably changed the strategical situation in eastern and north eastern Spain. Not only would it have been a strong blow to Nationalist morale, but it could possibly have led to a link up of Basque and Catalan forces. An Anarchist take-over of Saragossa would have massively boosted their prestige, and they would have more than made up for their losses through the recruitment of new units. Not only would the libertarian revolution have been far more widespread, but a Communist take-over may well have been either prevented or at least postponed.

Battle for Aragon